Pneumatic thread holder for weft replenishing loom



NOV. 20, 1951 TURNER 2,575,853

PNEUMATIC THREAD HOLDER FOR WEF'T REPLENISHING LOOM Filed May 25, 1950 FIG.5 46

INVENTOR RICHARD s. TURNER gawwme ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 20, 1951 UNI TED- S-TES PAT OFFICE PNEUMATIC THREAD HOLDER, FOR WEFT REPLENISHING. LOOM 1 Richard- G: Turner; Worcester, Maser, assignor'to' Orompton' & Knowles Loom-Works, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts.

Application May 25; 1950,,Seria1 No. 16 1;154

ll Claims. (Cl. 139247.).

This invention relates to improvements in pneumatic'thread holdersfor" the weft ends of reserve bobbins in weft replenishing'looms and it is the general objectof theinventionto provide" meanswhereby the stream of air'and weftends' moving through the'thread holder will be automatically deflected towardentangling or ensnaring means for the weft end.

A form of pneumatic thread holder which I have already proposed includes a hollow thread receiving structure the base of which has an opening leading to a thread collectororaccumulater. the" thread collector and as weft ends from reserve bobbins are placed within the aforesaid compartment they are drawn downwardlypneumatically' through the opening into the collector.. In order that the weft ends maynot benumber of weft ends extend over or along the.

entangling or ensnaring means they may prevent the latter from holding any new Weft ends which may be inserted into the threadholder incident to the placing of additional reserve tively to the ensnaring means so thatthe stream of air. and the threads which it' carries may'if" desired be deflected to one side of the-entangled weft ends to give them a rotary motion to wrap the new weft ends into close contact with them.

The adjustment of the baffle may conveniently be effected by means of a screw threaded into the base of the aforesaid structure, this screw being accessible without dismantling the various parts of the thread holder and collector because of a waste thread removingdoor forming part oflthe collector.

With these and other objects in view which Subatmospheric pressures exist within will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the-combination and arrangement-'ofparts-hereinafter described andset forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of the invention is set forth.

Fig; l isa-sideelevation of part of a weftreplenishing loom having the invention applied thereto,-

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of thethread holder looking'in the direction of arrow 2; Fig. 1, Fig. 8" is a vertical section on1ine-3 3 Fig. 2, throughthethreadholder and upper part of the thread collector,

Fig. 4 is aperspective view of the air' deflector forming an important part of the present invention;

Fig. 5' is an enlarged'detailed transverse section online 5--5; Fig. 3,

Fig; 6'" is a diagrammatic'view showing the-air" deflector in position to cause a stream of air tomove directly toward'the thread entangling means, and- Fig; '7is a view similar to Fig. 6 butsh'owing the baffle so relatedas to deflect an air stream tooneiside of the mass'of entangled threads for the" purpose of" rotating the latter. and matting,

them into a cord'or the like.

Referring to Fig. 1, the loom frame I supports a reserve bobbin magazine Mwhich may if desired be of the stationary multi-color type containing bobbins from which extend weftends W. These weft ends lead to a thread holder l-I having a base 2 formed with an upstanding wall 3.

defining part of a thread compartment 4. The base 2' is provided with an opening 5' which leads downwardly to the interior of a. thread collector Cwhich may conveniently be in the form of a hollow cylinder.

The Wall. 3-is provided with a relatively long notch 6-. along the upper edge thereof adjacent to the magazine and has also a narrower notch l on-the side thereof opposite to the magazine. A cover 8-; which may be made of fiat transparent material, is hinged as at 9* to the holder. A guard wire In secured to the base '2 may extend over part of the cover 8 to limit angular movement thereof with respectto the holder H.

The loom is provided with a pneumatic pump l2 the piston I3 of which is operated by a rod connected to a lever [5 which is reciprocated backwardly and forwardly by a rod l6 connected to the lay L. The latter is driven by the top of crank' shaft" i1 and during loom operation the piston [3 slides rearwardly to create subatmospheric pressures within a hose [8 connected to the II'OIlt end of the pump.

The forward end of hose It is connected to a bottom member 20 held against the bottom of thread collector C by rods 2|. The hose communicates with the interior of the thread collector and-during loom operation subatmospheric pressures created within the collector by the pump draws air from the surrounding atmosphere through the notches 5 and 1' into compartment and then into the collector by way of the opening 5. If desired, the collector C may have means affording access to the interior therefore for the removal of waste weft threads, this means including a housing 25 provided with a p1voted door 2f which is normally downin closed position against the housing 26. but can be lifted manually. cylinder 28 which may be made of transparent material and fitted to the underside of the holder H.

Secured to the under side of the base 2 at one side of the opening 5 is a bent preferably sheet metal strip 30 held to the base as at 3| and having an inclined downwardly extending arm 32 to which is secureda body of card clothing 33 including a large number of prongs 34 which project downwardly in an inclined direction from the base 2.

Except for the card clothing 33, the matter thus far described may be similar to the matter set forth in the aforesaid patent and also Patents Nos. 2,460,611 issued February 1, 1949, and 2,- 476,640 issued July 19, 1949. In operation, the weft ends W will be placed under the cover and extend through the notches 6 and I. Pneumatic suction attracts the free ends of the threads back through notch 7 into compartment 4 and then down along the card clothing 33 into the interior of the collector C.

As already mentioned, when a considerable number of weft threads extends along the entangling surface or means 33 it may be a difficult matter for weft ends freshly placed in the holder to become sufliciently entangled with the prongs of the card clothing to be held firmly by them. The general object of the present invention is to provide means which will automatically deflect threads entering the container from the opening into engagement with the entangling or ensnaring means 33.

In carrying the invention into effect a bafile or air deflector 40 is provided having a flat at- The collector C includes a taching arm 4! provided with an opening 42 to receive a holding screw 53 tapped as at 44 into the base 2. The head of the screw is within the container C but is readily accessible when the door 2? is lifted. Extending from arm M in a direction inclined downwardly and toward the thread ensnaring member 33 is a deflector member 35. The deflector has a curved'surface 48, see Fig. 5, which is concave toward the ensnaring means 33 and extends under the opening 5. The deflector can have the angular position thereof changed with respect to the member 33 by reason of the screw 43.

In the operation of the invention, and assuming that it is desired to deflect V freshly inserted threads into the holder H directly against the thread ensnaring member 33, the deflector will be set as shown in Fig. 6 so that part at least of the stream of air moving downwardly from compartment t through opening 5 will move directly toward the member 33 in the general direction indicated by arrow a. The effect of that part of the air stream thus deflected is to cause closer engagement of the bundle or cord B of Weft ends already in the holder with the thread hold ing or ensnaring member 33 and to expose part of the prongs or this member so that they can ensnare the freshly placed weft ends.

If it be desired to exert a force on the-bundle B tending to rotate it so that the freshly inserted wert ends will become enmeshed with the threads already in the bundle or. cord B the screw as can be loosened and the deflector set 101 instance in the position indicated in Fig. 7, after which the screw is tightened. When in this posltlon the deflector Wlll direct part of the air stream moving downwardly from the opening 5 toward one side of the bundle B to produce a rotary effect.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets forth simple automatically acting means by which part at least Of the air stream moving downwardly through the opening 5 is 'directed toward the bundle B of weft ends and the thread ensnaring member 33. The deflector is so mounted that it can be set angularly to guide r that part of the air stream which it affects either directly toward the ensnaring member 33, or to'one side of it for the purpose of causing rotation and entanglement of the weft ends. The base 2 has depending therefrom two weft end controlling members 33 and 45 inclined toward each other, the one to be in the path of the threads as they hang from the base 2 and-the other so placed as to direct the threads against the first member by deflecting a stream of air toward it.

Having thus described the invention it will be seen that changes and modifications of the foregoing specific disclosure may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In pneumatic control means for the weft ends of reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom, a hollow thread collector within which subatmospheric pressures exist, a pneumatic thread holder on said collector having an opening therein communicating pneumatically with the interior of the'collector and through which a stream of air and the weft ends passfrom the holder into the collector, thread entangling means at one side of the opening depending from the holder into the collector, and air deflector means located at another side of the opening directing part at least of the stream of air and threads therein toward said entangling means.

2. In pneumatic control means for the weft ends of reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom, a hollow thread collector within which subatmospheric pressures exist, a pneumatic thread holder on said collector having an opening therein communicating pneumatically with the interior of the collector and through which a stream of air and the weft ends pass from the holder into the collector, thread ensnaring means fixed with respect to the holder projecting from the opening downwardly into the collector in position to engage threads hanging from the holder through the opening into the collector, and an air deflector extending below the opening and effective to direct part at least of the air stream and weft ends floating therein toward said ensnaring means.

3. In pneumatic control means for the weft ends of reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom, a hollow thread collector within which subatmospheric pressures exist, a pneumatic thread holder on said collector, a base forming part of the holder extending across the collector and having an opening therein through which a stream of air and the weft ends pass from the holder into the collector, weft end ensnaring means in position to engage the weft ends leading from said opening into the collector, and air deflector means extending in a direction to deflect part at least of the air stream and weft ends therein toward said ensnaring means.

4. The pneumatic control means set forth in claim 3 wherein the deflector means is concave toward said ensnaring means.

5. The pneumatic control means set forth in claim 3 wherein the ensnaring means is made of card clothing.

6. In pneumatic control means for the weft ends of reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom, a hollow thread collector within which subatmospheric pressures exist, a pneumatic thread holder on said collector, a base forming part of the holder extending across the collector and having an opening therein through which a stream of air and weft ends pass from the holder into the collector, and two oblique weft end controlling members secured to the base and inclined toward each other, one of said members being a thread ensnaring means and the other member being an air deflector to direct part at least of the stream of air and the weft ends therein toward the first member.

7. In pneumatic control means for the weft ends of reserve bobbins in a weft replenishing loom, a hollow thread collector Within which subatmospheric pressures exist, a pneumatic thread holder on said collector having an opening therein through which a stream of air and weft ends pass from the holder into the collector, weft end ensnaring means in position to engage the weft ends leading from said opening into the collector, an air deflector on the base extending into the air stream, and means for securing the deflector to the base in either of two positions, the deflector when in one of said positions directing a part at least of said air stream and the weft ends therein directly toward said ensnaring means, and said deflector when in the other of said positions directing part of said air stream and the weft ends therein to one side of said ensnaring means to effect rotation of the weft ends depending from said ensnaring means.

8. A pneumatic thread holder unit for a loom having weft ends extending from reserve bobbins and a thread collector, said unit including a base to fit the collector and a cover and means cooperating with the base and cover defining a thread compartment, said base having an open ing therein to establish pneumatic communication between the compartment and the thread collector, and two weft end control members secured to said base on opposite sides of said opening one of which is inclined toward the other, said other member comprising weft end ensnar ing means and said one member comprising a weft end deflector to direct air moving from the compartment through said opening toward said other member..

9. A pneumatic thread holder unit for a loom having weft ends extending from reserve bobbins and a thread collector, said unit including a base to fit the collector and a cover and means cooperating with the base and cover defining a thread compartment, said base having an opening therein to establish pneumatic communication between the compartment and the thread collector, two weft end control members: secured to the base adjacent to said opening and projecting away from said thread compartment and inclined toward each other, one member comprising weft end ensnaring means and the other member comprising an air deflector concave toward the first member to deflect air moving from the compartment through the opening toward said first member.

10. A pneumatic thread holder unit for a loom having weft ends extending from reserve bobbins and a thread collector, said unit including a base to fit the collector and a cover and means cooperating with the base and cover defining a thread compartment, said base having an opening therein to establish pneumatic communication between the compartment and the thread collector, two weft end control members secured to said base on the side of the latter opposite the thread compartment extending in a direction away from the latter and inclined toward each other, one of said members comprising a weft end ensnaring means and the other member comprising a deflector to direct air moving from the compartment through said opening toward the other member, and means holding said other member on said base in such manner that said other member can deflect air either directly at or to one side of the first member.

11. The unit set forth in claim 10 wherein said means comprises a screw held by the base to clamp said other member to said base and also serve as a pivot around which said other member can swing to assume different positions relatively to the first member.

RICHARD G. TURNER.

No references cited. 

